Slàinte

On Monday night, I went to The Banx, a local restaurant that serves traditional Irish food, with a bunch of people from my program. The restaurant is owned by Kate, a lovely older Irish woman who is well-known throughout Galway for her delicious cooking abilities. She kindly had us come to her restaurant after its typical closing hours to give us a demonstration and taste of a traditional Irish meal. When we arrived, I was shocked to see that the menu featured "fish pie" as its main course. Now, for those of you who know me, this is a big deal. I don't really do fish, nevermind a pie that consists of various kinds of it. However, since I am supposed to be immersing in a new culture and trying new things (even if they are gross), I decided to be a trooper and enjoy all parts of the experience...including the fish pie.

It's hard to see from the picture, but the dinner consisted of traditional brown bread, white winter soup, fish pie, and apple tart with cream for dessert. Kate and her assistant, Lara, had tables set up filled with fresh locally grown produce, fish from the local fish market, and other ingredients from different shops within Galway. I have noticed that most places around here tend to utilize the food resources within Galway and I appreciate their efforts to be a self-sustaining community. Kate began by making the soup, which consisted of various vegetables including cauliflower, squash, celery, and carrots cooked off in a little bit of butter, oil, and garlic. It smelled delicious and I was happy to be having fresh vegetables for the first time in a while. After the vegetables were done, Kate mixed in some homemade chicken broth and put it on the back-burner for a while. When the soup was done, it had a thick, chunky consistency as some of the vegetables had disintegrated, giving the soup its "white color." We had the soup with Kate's homemade brown bread, which she showed us was made from white wholemeal, brown wholemeal, and a bit of buttermilk - so simple, but so good.

As we enjoyed the first course, Kate started to cook the scallops, salmon, and various white fishes in a big pot with some sunflower oil and garlic. The fish only cooked for a few minutes before she put them in a large casserole dish, spread mashed potatoes over them as a topping, and pour the excess fish juices on top to make a sort of "chowery casserole," as Kate described it.

The makings of fish pie

The fish pie cooked for a short time and then it was on my plate, and I was extremely skeptical; the smell itself was overpowering and the appearance was not very pleasant.

...Questionable.

Shockingly, I tried a few bites. Not so shockingly, I didn't like it at all. I tried to pick around the fish to just eat the mashed potatoes, but Kate really got the fish in there. As we ate, or pretended to eat, the fish pie, Kate went on to make dessert, which everyone had very high hopes for. Fortunately, the dessert delivered and it so delicious. Kate used huge locally grown Granny Smith apples and a little cinnamon and sugar to make the filling for her homemade tart crust. The tarts only took about 15 minutes to cook and when served with a little cream, they were delicious. 

Rolling out the tart dough.

How cute was she?!

The finished product

So, while I did not love the traditional Irish dinner, I didn't hate it either. The bread, soup, and apple tart were great and I loved having the chance to watch the meal being cooked. It was like being in the audience of a Rachael Ray taping (or at least what I would imagine it to be like.) Kate gave us a little book of the recipes to try on our own, so I may give it a go while I'm here or when I get home so I can share a little bit of Ireland with everyone. All in all, it was a good experience that I am glad to have been a part of.

Love and no more picky eating,

Haley